Labeling machine



R. J. NEWMAN |=:r A1. 2,639,831

LABELING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l l Illlwll ht \\\l /nvenr v Rober? 'JTMew/777572 Dag/LIC( 4 l HJ-7v m fforney May 26, 1953 Filed April 16,1951 May 26, 1953 R. J. NEWMAN ET Al.

LABELING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 16, 1951 5), Dani 6.Ffc'mi Patented May 26, 1953 LABELING MACHINE Robert John Newman andDavid Sidney Friend, London, England Application April 16, 1951, SerialNo. 221,154 In Great Britain January 1, 1951 2 Claims.

This invention relates to labelling machines of the kind having a pairof side gum plates or pickers mounted for reciprocatory movement, e. g.in a horizontal plane, from a position where they are gummed to aposition where they receive a label from a stack of labels, and then toa further position where the label is applied to a package or containerby means of a plunger, the plunger and/or the package being moved duringthis operation between the gum plates.

Since the plunger and/or the container moves between the gum plates forthe purpose of removing the gummed label from said plates andtransferring it to the package or container, the gum plates must bespaced a considerable distance apart. As a result the labels are gummedonlyl over areas which are spaced apart, leaving an ungumrned area Whichin some cases gives rise to a poor appearance of the applied label. Theprovision of means to overcome this disadvantage has met with certaindiiculties such as twisting of the label and it is the principal objectof the present invention to provide means by which the labels are gummedover their entire area and in which the difliculties hithertoencountered are eliminated.

According to the invention a labelling machine comprises a central gumvplate which ts between the side gum plates, means for bringing a labelbox against the three gum plates while they are disposed in a commonplane, and means for ydisplacing the central gum plate out of said planewhile the box is maintained against the side gum plates. The machine ispreferably also provided with means whereby the label box is thenremoved from the side gum plates so as to leave a label on said plates,the latter being then moved to the label applying position while thecentral gum plate remains at the label box position. The side andcentral gum plates may thereafter be returned to a position rearwardlyof the label box position to receive a new coating of gum, this movementof the central gum plate being effected by the movement of the side gumplates.

The central gum plate may be carried by or made integral with a slidemounted in a guideway in a tiltable member whereby the central gum platecan be displaced slidably in the plane of the side gum plates andfurther displaced out of that plane by tilting.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated Iby way of example in theaccompanying drawpart of a labelling machine showing the gum plates andassociated mechanism;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1 with the cover removed; and

Figure 3 is an end elevation, partly in section, looking in thedirection of arrow III in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral lll designates the rear end Wallof a labelling machine which may be of the kind illustrated in Figures 1to 14 of our Patent No. 2,513,511, said machine including a pair oflaterally spaced side gum plates I I, I2 which are arranged in ahorizontal plane and are mounted for movement towards and away from thefront of the machine under the action of a cam (not shown) on a camshaft I3 to which rotational movement is imparted in any convenientmanner. The machine also includes a gumming mechanism for applying acoating of gum to the top faces of the gum plates; a label box'arrangedabove the plane of located and operated as in our aforesaid Patent No.2,513,511, the operating cams being arranged on the cam shaft I3 so thatthe said parts and the gum plates are actuated in synchronism. i

In accordance with the present invention and to ensure that each labclhas a coating of gum applied over its entire surface, a further gumplate I4 is provided which during the operations of gumming thesideplates II, I2 and picking oli a label from the label box, is located inthe space between, and in the same plane as, said side gum plates, andis thereafter actuated to disengage from the picked off label so thatthe latter may be moved with the plates I I, I2 to the label applying ortransfer position. trated, the gum plate I4 is integral with a slide I5extending longitudinally through an opening I6 in the rear machine wallIU, said plate being located at the forward end of the slide and of awidth corresponding to the spacing between the side gum plates II, I2.The slide I5 is mounted for longitudinal movement in a guideway I1provided in the top face of a bracket I8 and is held within saidguideway by vtop plates I9, I 9 secured to the bracket.

nions 20 by which it is journalled for pivotal AS iuus- The bracket is nprovided at its forward end with depending trunmovement on a horizontaltransverse spindle 2I mounted in a bracket 2 la on the rear wall It ofthe machine. The shaft 2| also has pivoted thereon a two-armed lever,one arm 22 of which extends through an opening Ita in the wall Il) andcarries a follower roll 23 running on a cam disc 2li on the cam shaftI3, while the other arm 25 of said lever carries an adjustable stop inthe form of a bolt 25 which abuts against the bracketl lil. A tensionspring 21 connected between a pin 28 on the wall I5 and a further pin 29on the bracket urges the two-armed lever 22, 25 in a direction such asto hold the roll 23 towards the cam 24, and an adjustable stop bolt 3l!mounted in the wall It limits such movement of the lever so that whenthe cam is located with its lowest part facing the roll 23 the centralgum plate is positioned horizontally and in the same plane as the sidegum plates.

The slide I and central gum plate Id are urged in the forward directionby a pair of tension springs 32 disposed at opposite sides of the slideand connected between a bar 33 secured to the rear end of the slide andplates Ziel secured on a bracket 35 integral with the side gum plates orto which said plates are secured. The bracket 35 co-operates with guiderods (only one oi which is shown) extending from the rear wall Ii! tothe iront wall 3'! of the machine. The slide has fixed thereon adepending abutment 38 which is held by the springs 32 in engagement witha rawhide plug 39 on the rear end of the bracket 35. The slide also hasfixed thereon a bracket 49 which at its forward end carries anadjustable stop bolt lli adapted on forward movement ci the slide toabut the wall Ill and thus arrest the slide in a position such that thecentral gum plate I4 is located beneath the label box. The gummedlabels, as will hereinafter be evident, are moved from the label boxposition to the transfer position by the side gum plates.

At the commencement or a labelling operation the mechanism is in theposition shown in the drawings, with the central gum plate I4 locatedbetween the side gum plates Il, I2 and in the same horizontal plane assaid side plates. As in our aforesaid Patent No. 2,513,511, the labelbox, gumming mechanism and label transfer or applying plunger areraised. After a package or container to be labelled is placed inposition on a cradle adjacent'the front wall 3'?, which cradle may besupported for vertical movement asin our said Patent No. 2,513,511, theside gum plates move forwardly and the gumming roller is lowered toapply to said plates a layer of gum. During this forward travel theabutment 38 is held. by the springs 32 in contact with the plug 39, andthe slide I5, and consequently the central gum plate, are also movedforward so that said central gum plate also receives a layer of gum fromthe gumming roller. When the stop bolt 4I abuts the wall I0, as shown inbroken lines at 4I in Figure 1, to arrest the slide the gum plates I I,I2 and I4 are located beneath the label box and the side gum plates arealso arrested by their actuating cam, the bracket 35 then being in theposition shown in broken lines at 35. The gumming roller is raised tohave a new coating of gum applied to its surface and the label boxdescends into engagement with the side gum plates, whereupon thelowermost label in the box contacts the side and central gum plates andis afterwards withdrawn `from the box as the latter returns to its upperposition.

During the remaining part of the operation,

which may be identical -with that of the machine described in ouraforesaid Patent No. 2,513,511 and in which the side gum plates make afurther forward movementA until the bracket 35 reaches the positionshown at 35" (which corresponds to the label transfer position) andthereafter return to their rearmost position, the central gum plate isretained at the label box position by the stop bolt il and its returnmovement is eiected on re-engagement of the plug t9 with the abutment38. However, before the label box is returned to its upper position andthe side gum plates moved forwardly from the label box position it isnecessary, in order to prevent damage to the label, to disengage thelabel from the central gum plate. For this purpose the bracket I3carrying the slide I5 is rocked in a clockwise direction as seen inFigure 1 by the cam 2li so that the central gum plate is moveddownwardly out of the plane of the side gum. plates. This frees thecentral gum plate from the label, which remains attached to the side gumplates until it is removed therefrom at the transfer position of saidside plates. The central gum plate is returned to its upper position byrocking movement of the bracket It in a counterclockwise direction undercontrol of the cani 241 after the label on the side gum plates hascleared the forward end of said central plate and preferably before thelatter commences its rearward movements.

Lubrication of the slide I5 may be eiiected by means of a pair of oilnipples i3 carried by a casing lll enclosing the rear end of the slideand the bracket I8, said nipples registering with notches 'i5 (Figure 2)cut in the inner edges of the plates I9. Oilways i6 may also beprovided, as shown in Figure 2, in the slide.

We claim:

1. In a labelling machine having a label box, a pair of side gum platesspaced apart to form a gap between them and mounted for reciprocatorymovement in the plane of said plates, means for moving the label boxagainst the gum plates for transferring a label from the label box tothe gum plates, gumming means for applying gum to the gum plates at agumming position and label applying means located at a label applyingposition spaced from said label box for transferring a label from thegum plates to an article to be gummed, the provision of means forreciprocating said gum plates lengthwise thereof from the gummingposition through the label box position to the label applying position,a tiltable vcarrier mounted on an axis transverse to the direction ofreciprocation of said plates, a central gum plate located between saidside gum plates and mounted on said carrier slidably lengthwise of saidplates, resilient means for advancing said central gum plate slidably onsaid carrier to maintain the central gum plate in said gap while theside gum plates move from the gumming position to the label boxposition, means for tilting said carrier to move the central gum plateout of said gap when the label box has applied a label to the plates, apair of coacting abutments attached to the side gum plates and to thecentral gum plate respectively, said resilient means urging saidabutments into engagement with one another, and a second pair ofabutments attached to `the central gum plate and to the framerespectively for preventing advance movement of the central gum plateand to the frame respectively for preventing advance movement of thecentral gum plate beyond the label box position of the gum plates.

2. In a labelling machine having a label box, a pair of side gum platesspaced apart to form a gap between them and mounted for reciprocatorymovement in the plane of said plates, means for moving the label boxagainst the gum plates for transferring a label from the label box tothe gum plates, gumming means for applying to the gum plates at agumming position and label aD- plying means located at a label applyingposition spaced from said label bOX for transferring a label from thegum plates to an article to be gummed, the provision of means forreciprocating said gum plates lengthwise thereof from the gummingposition through the label box position to the label applying position,a tiltable carrier mounted on an axis transverse to the directioncfreciprocation of said plates, a central gum plate located between saidside gum plates and mounted on said carrier slidably lengthwise of saidplates, resilient means for advancing said central gum plate slidably onsaid carrier to maintain the central gum plate in said gap while theside gum plates move from the gumming position to the label boxposition, the gum plates being on one side of the axis on which thecarrier tilts and the carrier extending on the other side of said axis,2 cam actuated lever which engages the carrier t0 move it upwards aboutsaid axis thereby tilting the central gum plate downwards to move thecentral gum plate out of said gap when the label box has applied a labelto the plates, a spring which urges the carrier and lever downwardlyabout said axis, an adjustable stop which is engaged by said lever tolimit the movement of the carrier and lever when the central gum platereaches the plane of the side gum plates, and means for preventingfurther advance movement of the central gum plate slidably on saidcarrier when the side gum plates move from the label box position to thelabel applying position.

ROBERT JOHN NEWMAN. DAVID SIDNEY FRIEND.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,641,045 Oslund et al Aug. 30, 192? 2,078,870 Oslund Apr. 27,1937 2,513,511 Newman et al July fl, 1950

